


no fool for love songs

by torigates



Category: Psych
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2013-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 12:21:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1031661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torigates/pseuds/torigates
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shawn knows he’s not very brave. Given half a chance to run away from a life-threatening situation, that’s what he’s going to do. No questions asked.</p>
            </blockquote>





	no fool for love songs

Shawn knows he’s not very brave. Given half a chance to run away from a life-threatening situation, that’s what he’s going to do. No questions asked.

In fact, he’s pretty sure it’s that lack of bravery that has kept him alive on more than one occasion. That and his ability to talk his way out of almost any situation.

So when running away didn’t work, Shawn talked, because that was what Shawn did, and even though more than one person had told him on more than one occasion that his mouth was going to get him in a lot of trouble one day, Shawn was pretty sure it was his mouth that was saving his life right then, and when he had a good thing going, Shawn wasn’t one to question that.

The entire time he was kidnapped, tied up, and held at gun point there were only two instances where he thought to himself, ‘This is it. I’m going to die.’

First, the moment after he realised he was shot, and second after greasy-haired bad dude shot Ryan-Geoffrey-Longmore (Shawn never did get his real name. He wondered for a second who was going to tell Maureen her boyfriend was never coming back, then he realised he didn’t want his last thought to be about a guy who shot him and thought about Juliet instead, and how he thought maybe she was about to say I love you back, but then he thought it was kind of weird to be thinking about a girl who wasn’t his girlfriend when he was about to die so he thought about Gus because if Shawn died Gus was going to be really mad).

But besides those two brief moments, Shawn was pretty sure he wasn’t going to die, and that someone would find him, preferably Juliet or Lassy because they had guns, but really anyone else would do in a pinch, he wasn’t exactly in a position to be choosy about his rescuer.

Shawn can’t deny that running for his life had certain advantages. For example, he got to be Harrison Ford in _The Fugitive_ and/or Steve McQueen in _The Great Escape_ , both excellent possibilities, and well, actually that was it. So maybe running for his life didn’t have any advantages, except being shot in the shoulder and getting a concussion, which weren’t actually advantages at all, but rather dangerous and life-threatening injuries.

After Lassy handcuffed the bad guy and Gus reassured him that he didn’t have to be Walker anymore, Shawn may have passed out a little bit. His vision went fuzzy around the edges and his knees maybe gave out for a second, but his dad caught him, and Shawn’s pretty sure no one else noticed and that’s basically the same thing as saying it never happened in the first place. Then there was an ambulance, and paramedics and a lot of people looking at his arm and shining bright lights at him, and if Shawn maybe closed his eyes for a minute once they were on the way to the hospital, there was no one but the paramedics, Gus, and his dad there to see it anyway, and that’s basically the same thing as saying it never happened in the first place.

Shawn hates hospitals. He has ever since his accident. He doesn’t like not being in control of what happens to him. He never told anyone that, not even Gus, but he expects his dad might know. Shawn’s good at noticing things, because his dad taught him how. He squeezes his eyes shut and maybe holds Gus’s hand a little bit when they stitch up his shoulder, and makes a joke that maybe if Gus had hurried a little more to meet Shawn he wouldn’t have ended up shot. His eyes are closed, but he can tell right away he shouldn’t have said that.

“Sorry,” he mutters, and Gus squeezes his hand back a little bit and Shawn knows he’s forgiven. With Gus he’s always forgiven.

He can hear his dad pacing in the hallway.

Eventually, the doctors are done with his arm, but he has a concussion, so he has to stay overnight, even after he volunteered Gus to stay up all night to watch him and Gus didn’t even object.

Shawn grins at Gus from his bed and asks, “Do you think they have pineapple flavoured jello?”

Gus gives him his best, ‘No, Shawn,’ look and then follows it with a, “No, Shawn, I don’t,” which Shawn thinks is pretty redundant after the look. He still makes Gus go look for some.

“And don’t even think of bringing me back anything lime flavoured!” Shawn calls after him.

His dad is still pacing in the hall. “Are you going to come in?” Shawn calls when he can’t stand it anymore (which is probably only about fifteen seconds but somehow seems so much longer).

Henry starts muttering to himself, before entering the room. He stands at the doorway, his arms folded over his chest.

“Listen,” Shawn says, cutting Henry off before he can start. “Thank you.”

Whatever Henry had been expecting, that wasn’t it. Shawn thought the look on his dad’s face was harsh but fair, given the state of their relationship for the past, oh, forever. Henry inhales sharply, and walks across the room in three quick strides. He sits next to Shawn on the bed, putting one arm around Shawn’s shoulders, in an awkward half-hug. Shawn thought he might have seen tears in his dad’s eyes, but there was no one else there to notice, and Shawn was certain neither of them were ever going to mention this ever again, and that was basically the same thing as saying it never happened in the first place.

Gus comes back with red jello, and Shawn huffs and puffs about it, before Henry threatens to eat it himself. Shawn tells him that he’s just jealous that Shawn has jello and Henry doesn’t. His dad smiles a little bit at that, and Shawn thinks he’s probably going to be fine.

Later, Lassiter comes by, bringing with him (of all things) a pineapple. Shawn whoops with joy and says, “Aw, Lassy, I knew you loved me.”

“It’s from the chief,” he mumbles.

“If by ‘from the chief’ you mean it’s secretly from you, then yes,” Shawn agrees with a grin.

“Look, Spencer,” he says on his way out the door, “Don’t think I won’t shoot your other shoulder,” but he smiles a little bit when he says it and Shawn thinks maybe there are certain perks to being shot. Or maybe not perks, but there are certainly nice consolation prizes.

Gus and Henry settle into the chairs next to Shawn’s bed.

“Is that my shirt?” Shawn asks.

“It’s _my_ shirt, Shawn,” Gus replies. “I don’t know how you did it, but half your closet is filled with clothes you stole from me.”

Shawn gives Gus his best patronizing look, before he processes what exactly Gus said. “Wait,” he says. “Why were you going through my closet when my whereabouts were unknown? Don’t you think that’s a little callous, Gus?”

“Shut up, Shawn,” Gus says. “Juliet and I were looking for clues—”

“Jules,” Shawn interrupts. “You brought Jules to my apartment?”

Henry snorts, “Apartment, right.”

“Dad, not now,” Shawn says before turning back to Gus. “You brought Jules to my apartment?”

“What’s the big deal?” he asks.

Shawn shrugs, feeling uncomfortable. “I don’t know, it’s weird!”

“You’re weird, Shawn,” Gus tells him.

Shawn jabs his spoon into his jello and mutters something about best friends who can’t even get him the right flavour. Gus ignores him.

Both Gus and Henry fall asleep a few hours later, their feet propped up on Shawn’s bed, arms folded over their chests and mouths open. Shawn smiles, and flips through the channels on tiny tv in the corner of his room. It’s almost like a tease, putting a tv in the room when it’s the smallest thing Shawn’s ever seen and no one could reasonably have an enjoyable viewing experience on it.

He hears the click-clack of heals on the tiles in the hall, and knows it’s Jules. If anyone asked he’d say it was thanks to his psychic powers, but there’s no one awake to ask those questions, and maybe Shawn’s a little bit glad he doesn’t have to confront the truth. The truth is he knows what her footfalls sound like, her brisk pace, he knows her.

He waits for several minutes, listening to her pace in the hall. He can picture her arguing with herself about whether or not she should come in, and he remembers the sound of her voice on the phone telling him he was going to be fine, about to tell him something else, and psychic, detective, whatever he is, she’s one thing he still hasn’t completely figured out. Not by a long shot. He’s not sure he ever will.

She doesn’t come in, though. Her steps fade down the hall, and besides, Shawn was the only one knew she was there, and that was basically the same thing as saying it never happened in the first place.

Gus wakes up with a sore neck and yells at Shawn for letting him fall asleep in that position. Shawn tells him he’s not Gus’s mother.

The next day they go for jerk chicken and ice cream.


End file.
